NEW DELHI: Two-time Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra, having narrowly missed out on breaching the 90m mark at the Paris Olympics, has decided to leave the challenge ‘to the gods’.
After nursing a persistent groin injury, Chopra aims to finish the season strong with upcoming competitions, including the Lausanne Diamond League starting on August 22.
Chasing the 90m milestone for years, Chopra’s wait was extended at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, where his 89.45m throw secured him a silver.
Despite the significant achievement of winning back-to-back Olympic medals, his performance was overshadowed by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw a remarkable 92.97m to claim gold.
Chopra has been managing a long-standing groin injury since winning the gold at the World Championships last year.
Despite this, he plans to compete in the upcoming Lausanne Diamond League.
After a busy schedule following the Olympic final on August 8, Chopra has resumed training in Switzerland and remains committed to concluding the season on a high, even with his injury restrictions.
“I need to leave it to gods now,” he said when asked about his target throw in the foreseeable future.
“I Just want to prepare well and see where the javelin goes. There has already been talk about 90m, now I feel just let it be. In Paris, I thought it would happen and it could have happened.
“Now I will give my 100 percent in the next two or three events and see what happens,” he said in a virtual interaction arranged by JSW.
After the season-ending Diamond League in Brussels from September 13-14, Chopra plans to consult doctors regarding his groin injury, with surgery likely on the horizon.
The 26-year-old athlete shared that the injury has hampered his ability to fully exert himself, particularly during competitions like the one at the Olympics, where he felt he was capable of achieving greater distances.
“I felt I could increase the distance. My two no throws in qualification and final, they were second and third best throws and my season best as well. To increase distance I need to be injury free.
“In my mind I know need to give 100 percent but because of the injury I am not able to give 100 percent. My body and mind stops me from making that extra effort.
“What is most important in training session is throwing sessions which I have not been able to do as much as I would like (due to injury). If you can’t throw regularly then you are not able to work on your technique. I need to throw as much as I can. The rest is all fine,” said Chopra.
He emphasized the importance of throwing sessions for his training, which he has been unable to conduct as regularly due to his injury.
Chopra highlighted a need for technical adjustments in his technique to improve his performance.
“When we run with the javelin there is also lot of strain on groin, when we take cross step. But right now I am not able to tweak my technique. Also my line of the javelin was also not perfect.
“Arc speed was good in Paris but the line was disturbed. If it would be straighter, I could have got two three metres out of it. However, not for once I thought that Arshad’s throw could not be bettered. My mind was ready to push the limits but body was not,” said the champion athlete.
Chopra needs to finish in the top-six of Diamond League Meetings series to qualify for the season finale in Brussels.
“I came to Switzerland for training ahead of Diamond League. Luckily I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of that. I thought of continuing my season like most other athletes. There is one month to go for season end. I will go to the doctors in free time,” he said.
We need to spot talent better to become sporting powerhouse
India finished an abysmal 71st in the Paris medals tally with five bronze and Chopra’s silver.
Asked what India needs to do to become a sporting power, Chopra said: “Overseas, there are more talent spotters. For example I took up javelin I don’t know how, I liked it so I pursued it. But if we try multiple sports and pick the best one on recommendations of an expert that way Indian sport can move forward. We need to spot talent better.
“Also, we can’t just focus on one sport. We need to be good in all sports. I feel the leaders in the medals tally (China, USA, Japan). They all are powerful nations in various fields, sports play a big part as well in lifting the profile of the nation.
“Hope we do well in the next Olympics, and qualify for FIFA World Cup as well. Cricket we already are doing well. There is no dearth of talent, mental, we also need to have more coaches,” added Chopra, who plans to open javelin academies going forward.
After nursing a persistent groin injury, Chopra aims to finish the season strong with upcoming competitions, including the Lausanne Diamond League starting on August 22.
Chasing the 90m milestone for years, Chopra’s wait was extended at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, where his 89.45m throw secured him a silver.
Despite the significant achievement of winning back-to-back Olympic medals, his performance was overshadowed by Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem, who threw a remarkable 92.97m to claim gold.
Chopra has been managing a long-standing groin injury since winning the gold at the World Championships last year.
Despite this, he plans to compete in the upcoming Lausanne Diamond League.
After a busy schedule following the Olympic final on August 8, Chopra has resumed training in Switzerland and remains committed to concluding the season on a high, even with his injury restrictions.
“I need to leave it to gods now,” he said when asked about his target throw in the foreseeable future.
“I Just want to prepare well and see where the javelin goes. There has already been talk about 90m, now I feel just let it be. In Paris, I thought it would happen and it could have happened.
“Now I will give my 100 percent in the next two or three events and see what happens,” he said in a virtual interaction arranged by JSW.
After the season-ending Diamond League in Brussels from September 13-14, Chopra plans to consult doctors regarding his groin injury, with surgery likely on the horizon.
The 26-year-old athlete shared that the injury has hampered his ability to fully exert himself, particularly during competitions like the one at the Olympics, where he felt he was capable of achieving greater distances.
“I felt I could increase the distance. My two no throws in qualification and final, they were second and third best throws and my season best as well. To increase distance I need to be injury free.
“In my mind I know need to give 100 percent but because of the injury I am not able to give 100 percent. My body and mind stops me from making that extra effort.
“What is most important in training session is throwing sessions which I have not been able to do as much as I would like (due to injury). If you can’t throw regularly then you are not able to work on your technique. I need to throw as much as I can. The rest is all fine,” said Chopra.
He emphasized the importance of throwing sessions for his training, which he has been unable to conduct as regularly due to his injury.
Chopra highlighted a need for technical adjustments in his technique to improve his performance.
“When we run with the javelin there is also lot of strain on groin, when we take cross step. But right now I am not able to tweak my technique. Also my line of the javelin was also not perfect.
“Arc speed was good in Paris but the line was disturbed. If it would be straighter, I could have got two three metres out of it. However, not for once I thought that Arshad’s throw could not be bettered. My mind was ready to push the limits but body was not,” said the champion athlete.
Chopra needs to finish in the top-six of Diamond League Meetings series to qualify for the season finale in Brussels.
“I came to Switzerland for training ahead of Diamond League. Luckily I did not aggravate my injury as I took extra care of that. I thought of continuing my season like most other athletes. There is one month to go for season end. I will go to the doctors in free time,” he said.
We need to spot talent better to become sporting powerhouse
India finished an abysmal 71st in the Paris medals tally with five bronze and Chopra’s silver.
Asked what India needs to do to become a sporting power, Chopra said: “Overseas, there are more talent spotters. For example I took up javelin I don’t know how, I liked it so I pursued it. But if we try multiple sports and pick the best one on recommendations of an expert that way Indian sport can move forward. We need to spot talent better.
“Also, we can’t just focus on one sport. We need to be good in all sports. I feel the leaders in the medals tally (China, USA, Japan). They all are powerful nations in various fields, sports play a big part as well in lifting the profile of the nation.
“Hope we do well in the next Olympics, and qualify for FIFA World Cup as well. Cricket we already are doing well. There is no dearth of talent, mental, we also need to have more coaches,” added Chopra, who plans to open javelin academies going forward.
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